Labels. No matter how much we want to shy away from them, it’s a way of life. Collectively, they help us define who we are and separately, they each contain a snippet of a facet of our lives and personalities.

When I first started my photography business, my logo was hanssie trainor: photography. Even back then I knew I could not be contained under one label, hence the colon. (The colon is used before a list or an explanation that is preceded by a clause that can stand by itself) and I knew that photography was just one thing that defined who I was. And now after 3+ years in the business, I’ve evolved and come full circle, back to using the colon to help define who I am – a multi faceted, ever changing person, that wears many hats and has many life experiences.

This blog has always been about my life but with a focus on my photography, but now, there will be a shift to focus more on my journey in the "IN BETWEEN" from my former life as a wife and mother to life as a single gal and single mom living life passionately under my own terms with photography thrown in as well. I'm just a girl trying to figure things out and deal with baggage and confusion in the dating world. I'm putting it all out there --the good, the bad and the ugly. I hope you’ll join me for the ride.

I'm kissing a lot of frogs..and blogging about it.

(P.S. Yes, I am still commissioning for fashion/editorial work and for weddings/ portraits)

Yesterday was my first day at my new job. I got a corner office…well, it’s a desk and it’s in the corner, so that’s close enough.

I’m only going to be in the office 2-3 days a week, but I can already tell that I’m not an office girl. I’ve only worked in an office 3 months of my life. And it shows.

First off, my first task was to disinfect the area, the keyboard, the chair, the shelf…you get the idea. Hey, you never know what germs are lurking. Then I went to my car and got a minion figurine to put on my desk. (I will be decorating more once the dust settles…)

I realized that I’m not used to working with shoes on when I’m at a desk. At my desk at home, I don’t even use the desk. I sit my laptop on a pillow and work with it on my lap with my legs criss crossed. And I’m definitely not used to sitting all day. My lower back hurt so badly at the end of the day.

But all in all, it was a great day. It was fast paced, and lots of stuff to keep track of and manage. I feel my Type A coming back…

Here’s my corner office. It’s a little dark (not as dark as the photo looks), so I’ll need to find a cute lamp and maybe some photos to liven it up.

After 7 long years, I finally turned in my letter of resignation at my day job (with the school). This ends my 16 year career in education and I’m not looking back.

Many people are asking me if I am going into photography full time. My answer is the same and has been for the last 6 years — an unequivocal NO. I never want to be a full time photographer. That just isn’t in me. As much as I love shooting and creating an image, I loathe the editing and I never want to lose the love for photography just for the sake of loving it. Not doing it because of work.

So, what am I going to do now? This brings me to big news #3 (I always do things in 3′s…that includes major life changes as evidenced in Big News #1 – moving to a new house Big News #2 – adopting {the most perfect} dog on the planet) – I have accepted an offer to work at SLR Lounge full time as of today!

I joke that I’ll still be grading papers –just papers written by adults. I’ll be writing a lot, editing a lot and managing a lot of stuff. I am very, very honored that the guys at SLR Lounge (UNDFIND and LJP Photography) trust my abilities and talent to take this big leap for them and for me. And I am super excited to begin a new chapter in my life.

As I left from my exit interview at a job that I both loved and not loved for 7 years –I felt familiar butterflies in my stomach. A feeling of freedom, but also much fear. Change is scary. And there have been many, many changes for me in the last few years.

Change is good. It keeps me fresh and it keeps me growing. I hope you will all support me by clicking on my articles from time to time. I’ll still be writing here daily, too. And for a girl that doesn’t have a lot to say aloud, I seem to have much to type.